NiJaree Canady allowed two hits and Texas Tech scored all four of its runs in the second inning to beat Arizona 4-0 in the Big XII Tournament Championship Game on Saturday. Arizona will find out its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday at 4 PM Mountain Standard Time on ESPN2.
Canady retired the first nine Arizona batters. Dakota Kennedy got the first hit for Arizona, leading off the fourth inning. Texas Tech led 4-0 before Arizona got its first hit. Arizona was the third consecutive shutout in the Big XII Tournament.
Victoria Valdez gave Texas Tech a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second inning. Hailey Toney had a two-run double a pair of batters later to extend the Texas Tech lead to 3-0. Mihyia Davis singled home Toney as the next batter and that was more than enough runs for Canady in a dominant performance.
Canady pitched a complete game, allowing two walks and two hits with eight strikeouts. The fourth and sixth innings were the only frames Arizona had baserunners. Sydney Stewart walked with two outs in the fourth, but Kaiah Altmeyer struck out to end the inning.
Dakota Kennedy walked with one in the sixth inning. Regan Shockey singled, but Devyn Netz grounded into the double play to prevent a potential Arizona comeback. Canady retired the side in order in the fourth inning as Texas Tech earned their first Big XII Tournament Championship.
After beating Texas Tech 2-1 in the first game of a three-game series in Tucson last month, the Red Raiders have outscored the Wildcats 19-3 in winning the last three contests between the two. The deficit versus Canady was a huge hole for Arizona after comebacks in the Big XII Tournament quarterfinals and semifinals.
Arizona beat Central Florida 4-3 in the quarterfinals after falling behind 3-0. After falling behind 2-0 and 3-1 against Iowa State in the semifinals on Friday, Arizona rallied for a 6-3 win. Despite the loss on Saturday, Arizona should still host a regional. The loss to Texas Tech probably ends any hope of being a top eight seed and hosting a super regional.